Purdue University Wine Grape Marketing Extension Specialist Katie Barnett says her job is about two things: connections and possibilities. "When you're buying a wine, you could buy a bottle that's on sale," Barnett said, "but what if instead, you bought a sweet wine that was Indiana grown? What if you read the label and saw that they have a small restaurant at their winery, or that they sell their wine at a wine bar five minutes from your house? You could spend your next Friday night at a winery

Wente Vineyards' 2013 Charles Wetmore Cabernet Sauvignon was named Wine of the Year at the 25th Indy International Wine Competition, held Wednesday and Thursday (Aug. 3 and 4) at Purdue University. The annual event is the largest independent wine competition in the United States, featuring 79 classes of wines from commercial and private winemakers around the world.

Indiana fruit and vegetable growers bringing irrigation systems into operation as production gets into full swing should have their water tested as part of good agricultural practices for produce food safety, Purdue Extension food safety educator Scott Monroe says.

Shoppers at more than 100 farmers markets, grocery stores, food pantries and roadside produce stands throughout Indiana can now connect with FoodLink, Purdue Extension's online hub for information about healthy foods.

Indiana farmers who are military veterans or on active duty can now market their products through the Indiana Grown Homegrown by Heroes initiative, a partnership between the state Department of Agriculture and Farmer Veteran Coalition with support from the Purdue University-based National AgrAbility Project.

Purdue Extension is starting a new marketing initiative to promote Indiana's pasture-raised poultry. The goal is to establish a set of common production, processing and branding standards to ensure consistent levels of quality, said Roy Ballard, Extension educator in Hancock County and one of the project coordinators.

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